Newer cars     

Newer cars which are in hot demand are not likely to sell for less than invoice. For cars with a waiting period, many are sold at MSRP or more. As a guide, cars which spend 0-40 days on the floor are sold at MSRP, 40-80 Days on the lot at Invoice Price, and greater than 80 Days on the lot for lower than Invoice Price

Your gender and age group    

Your gender and age group will also determine how the dealer negotiates the car price with you. This will ultimately determine the price you pay for the car. Young adults, women, and minorities are more likely to pay more for the car than more mature adult males. This disadvantage in buying a car can easily be addressed via first getting car quotes online, and discussing them with the dealers over the phone.

Trade-ins     

Trade-ins affect the price you pay for the new car. Always research your car's trade in value before going into the dealership. Dealers are usually willing to give you a better price if you indicate to them that you are considering trading in your old car. An excellent place to calculate your old car's price is kbb.com.

Time of month    

The time of month also determines the motivation of the dealer to sell you the car. Since car salesmen have a monthly quota with rewards for good performance, they are more motivated to settle for less margin towards the end of the month. The dealer stands to get rewards from the manufacturer if the dealership sells a certain number of cars.  Of course it is recommended that you don't wait until the end of the month to start the car buying research, be ready when the time comes.

Days supply of inventory    

The "days supply of inventory" for the dealership also determines the dealer's motivation to move cars from his lot. The more cars the dealer has on his lot, the more eager he or she is to sell the cars. The auto manufacturers usually start pressuring dealerships to start moving their inventory should their inventory get high.

Dealer Margins    

Dealers prefer making larger margins per car sold rather than making smaller margins, and selling more quantities of cars. As there are many people who don't know how to negotiate and buy cars, car salesmen always try their best before they give in.

Car Loans from Dealers    

Dealerships are more willing to give you a steeper discount if you seek a car loan from them. If you get a pre-qualified loan before going to the dealership via online sites or banks, some dealerships may match your rate, and when that happens the dealer stands to make some money of the loan to you, and pass some savings your way.

Payment or Price buyer    

What type of a buyer are you? Payment or Price buyer? – Dealers try selling you on the monthly payment model. This way they can manipulate figures behind the scenes and still allow you to pay monthly dues that you can afford. If you are planning to be a payment buyer, be prepared to be smart on how the interest rates are being manipulated.

Your financial standing for the car loan    Ideally dealers are looking for a 700 to 600 FICA rated customers. These command a premium over customers rated 500 (Poor financial rating), or (800 perfect financial rating). The buy rate and sell rate of the loan enables dealers to make an extra profit.

Accessories      

Always shop around for any car add-ons you may seek to install in the car. Unwary buyers end up paying 2-3 times more for Alarms, Sound Systems, Automobile Undercoating, Spoilers, Stain Guarding etc if they shop for these at the dealers. Being prudent means finding out these costs before going into the dealership. The dealer is very likely to match the outside pricing, once they find out that you have done your homework.